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The Clean and the Dead

RMOW Policy and Program Development
1435whistler2020

Whistler’s mountain air is fresh and pure, a simple pleasure to be enjoyed with every breath… we can live our mountain lives virtually free of the smog those poor city folk are sucking in daily.

But don’t hold your breath. According to Environment Canada, Canadians spend 90 per cent of their time indoors. So while you’re looking out the window at our clean coast mountain environment, take a second to look at two vitally important environments — your body and your home.

Phthalates, bisphenol A, cadmium, brominated flame retardants, formaldehyde, lead, methylmercury, perfluorinated chemicals, polychlorinated biphenyls, triclosan, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (xylene, benzene, and toluene) are all chemicals readily found in your indoor environment.

Household cleaners, carpets, furniture, paint, and cosmetics are all carriers of these potentially lethal toxic compounds. In small doses, none of them have been proven deadly, but in combination, surrounding you and your family every day, these chemicals can accumulate in the body, becoming a bona fide health hazard. Between 1995 and 2002, the volume of chemicals reported to be released and transferred in Canada increased by 49 per cent, according to a study done by the Canadian Environmental Law Association. Cleaning chemicals and their flame retardant friends didn’t really appear in households until after World War II, so we can reverse the trend.

A Canadian environmental group, Environmental Defence , released a report called Toxic Nation this summer and the findings of the study in some cases are enough to make one feel ill. This is the second study done by Environmental Defence. The first looked at 11 adult Canadians from across the country and tested their bodies for the presence of 88 harmful chemicals. The latest study screened children, parents and grandparents from five families for 68 chemicals. On average, 32 chemicals were detected in each parent and 23 chemicals were present in children. A grand total of 38 carcinogens, 23 hormone disruptors, 12 respiratory toxins, 38 reproductive or developmental toxins, and 19 neurotoxins were found in the study participants. Saltspring Islander and internationally recognized wildlife artist Robert Bateman, 75, was surprised to learn that 48 of the 88 chemicals, including 32 known carcinogens, were present in his system.

Household items such as furniture, cabinets, building materials, paint, wallpapers, cleaning products, glues and some cosmetics can emit gases into your indoor air. This is known as "off-gassing." Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a large and diverse family of chemicals that contain carbon and hydrogen. They can be emitted into indoor air from a variety of sources including cigarette smoke, household products like air fresheners, furnishings, vehicle exhaust and building materials such as paint, varnish and glues.

Some VOCs such as benzene and toluene are known to be toxic, but only at concentrations far above those typically found in Canadian homes. There is limited evidence that directly links VOC mixtures found in homes to known health problems. However, concerns about VOCs arise from the hypothesis that, when combined and accumulated in our environment, the toxicity of hundreds of VOCs could "add up" to create health and environmental hazards. This hypothesis suggests adopting a precautionary approach, which is embedded in Whistler’s four sustainability objectives, based on the Natural Step sustainability principles. No matter what you do, everything you use in your home ends up in the environment, in your lungs, liver and blood.

If you are currently using green cleaning products in your home or asking your cleaner to use them, then you’re already helping Whistler to move closer to sustainability objective two, which states that “Whistler must reduce and eventually eliminate our contribution to the build-up of substances produced by society.”

Brigitte Liss is the owner of Castleton Custom Cleaning who advertises her Whistler-Pemberton house cleaning business with “Only Environmentally Friendly Products Used.” Liss, who moved to Pemberton from Arizona three months ago, and who has been cleaning professionally for six years, was surprised to find many Whistler homeowners blissfully unaware of the potential toxins lurking in their shiny, clean homes.

“When it comes to these more friendly cleaning products, people who haven’t tried them really don’t think they are going to work,” Liss says. “It might take a little more time and energy, but all of the products I use work as well or better than the chemical competition.” Nesters Market, the Grocery Store and Creeskide Market stock household cleaning products by Seventh Generation, Nature Clean and other non-toxic brands.

Inspired by the negative effect chemicals may have on her three-year-old son, Liss switched to green cleaners and became a green cleaner. She says potential clients in this area seem to be more focused on the capital cost of cleaning rather than the health cost of using chemicals. Over time, she says, people will start to understand the real value of having a clean, chemical free home.

To KNOW MORE about other actions that are moving our community toward Whistler2020, to tell us how you’re contributing, or to find out how we’re performing visit www.whistler2020.ca .

(SIDEBAR)

Clean Green Mixology

• You need only a few versatile products to clean your entire house. Besides nontoxic all-purpose and glass cleaners and dishwashing and laundry liquids, stock up on baking soda, white distilled vinegar, lemon juice, and salt, an abrasive.

• Over-reliance on disposable and virgin products to clean your home adds waste to landfills. There's no end to the usefulness of washable microfiber cloths, natural cellulose sponges, and even old T-shirts and toothbrushes.

• All you need to clean your stove and countertops is a mix of hand dish-washing liquid and water, or a combo of white distilled vinegar and salt. Rub and buff to a shine. To clean your sink, make a paste of baking soda, hot water, lemon juice, and salt, and let sit before rinsing.

• Most of us don't consider the environmental impact of running our washers and dryers. Air-drying on a clothesline or drying rack, and hand-washing your delicates, are simple ways to save on electricity and costs. Add a cup of vinegar to the wash cycle to keep colours bright and fabrics soft.

• Houseplants not only look great, but they also improve your home's oxygen levels and can absorb dangerous toxins in the air. Best picks are philodendrons, green spider plants, palms, ferns, English ivy, dracaenas, and, if you live in an urban area or on a street with heavy traffic, a pine plant or tree. Source: Green This! Volume 1, by Deirdre Imus.